Alexander Zverev had 'natural dip in form' after Australian Open final heartbreak
By
SABC Sport
8th April 2025
Alexander Zverev has had a "natural dip in his form" after defeat in the Australian Open final but will be a contender again at the French Open, according to former world No 1 Mats Wilander.
Zverev was blown away in the final of the first major of the year, going down 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to Jannik Sinner and has not kicked on since the loss.
The German has since failed to make it past the quarter-finals at three events while he fared even worse at the Sunshine Double as he lost in the second round at Indian Wells and the last 16 in Miami.
Seven-time Grand Slam winner Wilander says he is not too surprised that Zverev has struggled after his defeat in Melbourne.
Wilander told Eurosport Germany: "Now that I watched him play, I do feel that he looks⦠I wouldn't say he is tired, but he looks a little bit like 'Okay I kind of had enough at the moment' and I think it is a natural reaction.
"I can only speak from experience, once I lost a Grand Slam final, the difference between winning a Grand Slam in terms of confidence and losing a final is like night and day.
"You would think it wouldnâ™t be that big a difference because you win six matches and you win seven matches [when you win the final].
"But to win six matches and lose in the final, it takes you two to three months before you figure out first of all 'what the hell happened', second of all 'I had my chances' or third, even worse 'I didn't have my chances'.
"I think that's what Zverev is dealing with [as he might think] 'I didn't actually have my chances in that match'. And that is feeling awful right now. Right now [Zverev is thinking] 'I am not sure I think I can beat any player in the world'.
"So I think it's a natural dip in his form and I do think he is going to be back. He is too good a player, he works too hard. His confidence I think against normal players is too high for him to lose early."
The clay-court season is now in full swing and Zverev has always been good on the surface. Last year he won the Italian Open and finished runner-up at Roland Garros.
Wilander feels it is only a matter of time before the world No 2 regains form.
He added: "I think by the time Madrid comes around, which is one of his favourite tournaments on clay, I do think we are going to be talking about Sascha Zverev as one of the contenders at the French Open again."
